EU Court Adviser Flags Limits on Detaining Migrants in Schengen Zone

Illegally entering or staying in a country in the European Union’s open-border Schengen zone isn’t in itself a reason for imprisonment, an adviser to the EU’s highest court said Tuesday, highlighting limitations for governments as they seek to restrict migration flows.

The advocate general’s opinion isn’t binding for the European Court of Justice. But if confirmed it could complicate already hamstrung efforts to keep migrants and refugees from moving across the 26-country Schengen area. In recent months several countries have reintroduced border controls to stop new arrivals from entering their territory and lodging asylum claims there.

The case in front of Advocate General Maciej Szpunar concerned Sélina Affum, a Ghanaian woman who was stopped by French police as the bus she was traveling on tried to enter the Channel Tunnel. Ms. Affum was traveling from the Belgian town of Ghent to London on a Belgian passport that contained the photo and name of another person. After she was unable to show another identity document, Ms. Affum was taken into custody for illegally entering France and then into detention until she could be sent back to Belgium.